The invention relates to power tools and, more particularly, to a nosepiece assembly, such as a locator assembly, which is supported on the power tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,260 illustrates a power tool including a nosepiece assembly, such as a locator assembly to control the depth to which screws are driven into a workpiece. In this assembly, a locator is threaded into a collar that can be snapped onto the nose portion of a tool housing. Thereafter, the locator is non-rotatably mounted on the tool housing via cooperating keys and keyways on the tool housing and the locator, respectively. Also, indexing fingers on the collar engage complementary bumps on the tool housing to maintain the collar in a predetermined angular position relative to the housing so as to maintain a desired depth setting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,704 shows another example of a nosepiece assembly, such as a locator assembly. In this assembly, a two-piece locator assembly is selectively mountable on a tool housing in coaxial relation with a driven tool attachment. The locator assembly includes a mounting sleeve having an internal annular flange that can be snapped over a retaining ring on the tool housing to thereafter releasably restrain axial movement of the sleeve relative to the tool housing. A detent arrangement between the tool housing and the sleeve prevents rotation of the sleeve relative to the tool housing after the sleeve has been snapped thereon.
In some prior art nosepiece assemblies, in connecting the nosepiece assembly to the power tool, the attaching structure provides such a tight engagement between the assembly and the tool housing that removal of the assembly by hand is difficult or impossible. The operator must apply a significant axial force to the assembly to remove it from the tool housing.
In some other prior art devices, the attaching structure provides a loose engagement between the assembly and the tool housing which, while easier to remove, provides less stability of the assembly on the tool housing. This may result in vibration or rattling of the assembly on the power tool and noise during operation of the power tool.
The apparatus and method of the present invention alleviates the problems with the above-described assemblies and prior art devices. The present invention provides a nosepiece assembly including attaching structure, which provides a sufficient attaching force to stabilize the nosepiece assembly on a power tool, and structure for overcoming the attaching force to assist an operator in easily removing the nosepiece assembly from the power tool.
The present invention provides a power tool including an improved nosepiece assembly, such as a locator assembly, which can be easily and quickly removed from and replaced on the power tool with one hand and a simple twist-off or pop-off action without disturbing a previously-set depth setting. The assembly includes snap-fit restricting structure for mounting the assembly on the tool housing and structure for overcoming the axial restricting force to release the locator assembly from the tool. The snap-fit restricting structure and the overcoming structure cooperate to permit the assembly to be snapped onto and popped off of the power tool while preventing the depth setting of the tool bit from being unintentionally or inadvertently changed.
More specifically, the invention provides a two-piece nosepiece or locator assembly that is selectively mountable on a tool housing in coaxial relation with a driven tool attachment. The locator assembly includes a mounting sleeve having a plurality of tabs that can be snapped into a circumferential groove on the tool housing to thereafter releasably restrain axial movement of the sleeve relative to the tool housing. The locator assembly and the tool housing also include cam members that are arranged to provide axial movement to the locator assembly when a rotational force is applied to the mounting sleeve. This arrangement permits the locator assembly to be easily and quickly snapped on and off the tool housing with one hand while allowing an improved attachment means to provide stability to the locator assembly when in a supported position.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings.